Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special
Chapter 133: Blood Crow Sect (2)

Chapter 133: Blood Crow Sect (2)

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When Seojun ordered that only one man should remain, they all looked at a single individual.

The one who had been slapped and sent flying—the same one who had first addressed Seojun.

He glared at his companions, but with Seojun standing right in front of him, he couldn’t exactly complain.

Finally surrendering, the man made a formal greeting with a pale face.

“My name is Cho Baek, senior...”

“Nice to meet you.”

Seojun patted Cho Baek’s shoulder.

“You’ll guide me. As for the others...”

Each time Seojun’s gaze passed over them, the men flinched and trembled.

Sigh. Seojun waved his hand dismissively.

“Get out of here.”

“Yes!”

“We’ll leave immediately!”

The men had no sense of camaraderie, fleeing instantly.

Cho Baek’s trembling pupils revealed his state of mind.

Of course, that wasn’t Seojun’s concern.

“How far is it from here to the Blood Crow Sect?”

“Four days by movement technique.”

“Four days?”

Just how far off course had he gone?

Seojun sighed and gestured with his chin.

“Lead the way.”

“Yes sir.”

*Southern Mongolia was vast.

It bordered multiple orthodox faction territories including Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei.

As such, it was naturally a frontline, with many martial artists present.

And nervous martial artists tend to pick fights over anything.

Because they didn’t like how someone looked, didn’t like the sword at their waist, didn’t like their gait, didn’t like their gaze.

Like temperamental teenagers, martial artists who disliked everything would pick fights when bored, and Seojun became rich.

“Wow, everyone has so much money.”

“Most are wandering martial artists, so if they survived this war, their pockets would be quite full.”

After thrashing three wanderers, Seojun tossed the money pouches to Cho Baek, who smiled brightly as he tucked them away.

There was no real need to give them away, but Seojun’s body was becoming heavy with money.

Too precious to throw away, so he would give some to his guide—and the man’s attitude had completely changed.

He had become extremely accommodating.

“So, what are the rumors about the Blood Crow Sect?”

“Are you... going there as a guest?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Hmm.”

After contemplating, Cho Baek cautiously spoke.

“They’re hot-blooded in some ways, and vicious in others.”

“We’re not on good terms, so just be honest.”

“Yes sir! They’re crazy bastards who grind people up brutally!”

Grinding people up. That probably wasn’t a metaphor but a literal physical description.

Seojun let out a hollow laugh.

“Is that unusual?”

“Most sects have certain standards. Grinding up all the commoners would be inconvenient for us too, and more importantly, it causes troublesome grudge spirits.”

This was something that Lee Seojun, the orthodox hero, didn’t know about.

“I don’t really understand.”

“What? Doesn’t the North Sea Ice Palace perform exorcism rituals every year?”

“Are you talking back?”

“...Killing many people continuously in one place causes accumulated grudges to coalesce into malicious spirits!”

“Really? Is it dangerous?”

“Not too much. Some of the big ones can be quite threatening, but usually even if they appear, a Peak Realm master can handle them without much difficulty.”

It seemed inner power could also exorcise ghosts.

If so, it wasn’t particularly Seojun’s concern.

And so, harassing Cho Baek whenever bored, they crossed the Black Serpent territory over roughly four days.

Even in Southern Mongolia, crows were black, and people lived their lives.

Here too, while the atmosphere differed slightly from orthodox faction territories, there wasn’t much significant difference.

That makes sense.

After all, people lived here too.

The rich lived well, and the poor lived poorly.

This was a universal truth, though here the gap was a bit more severe.

Upon reaching the Blood Crow Sect’s territory, Cho Baek pointed to a building visible in the distance.

“That’s the Blood Crow Sect.”

“Good. Thank you for your help.”

As Seojun waved his hand, Cho Baek bowed respectfully.

“Long life and prosperity, Hero Baek!”

“Try to live a decent life.”

“Yes sir! I’ll become a hero!”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“Haha...”

Cho Baek bowed once more and walked away.

Seojun stood in the middle of the road, pondering.

Now what do I do...

There were about three options.

First, infiltrate using the Shadow Concealment Technique, assassinate the sect leader, and then start.

Second, fly in with the Primordial Step, blow up a few buildings, and then start.

Third, spend some time preparing a massive Primordial Sun-Moon Art explosion, and then start.

Assassination would be better, right?

The important target wasn’t the small fry but the Blood Crow Sect Leader.

From what Seojun understood, the only Transcendent Realm master in the Blood Crow Sect was its leader.

In reality, once that guy was taken out, dismantling the Blood Crow Sect wouldn’t be difficult.

For assassination, night would be better.

Planning to explore the city until then, he started walking.

*“It’s desolate.”

Not many people around.

From the auras he sensed, there seemed to be quite a few people inside the buildings, but outside, only one or two people occasionally appeared.

According to Cho Baek, the Blood Crow Sect had been indiscriminately grinding people up for about half a year.

Probably because of that, people remained locked in their homes, but he couldn’t understand why they were grinding people up.

Were they trying to advance their realm?

“Nothing to do.”

Having finished his city tour, Seojun sat down in a suitable alley and absentmindedly looked up at the sky.

“Do you know what it means to set foot in the martial world?”

Suddenly, Chunbong’s words from their back alley days came to mind.

“The grudges and debts of the martial world are like a tangled ball of thread that can never be unraveled. You’ve already set one foot in.”

Grudges and debts.

Thinking about it, he was already entangled with many people.

Clear River Sect, Wang Clan, Hao Sect, Mount Hua Sect, Namgung Clan, Shaolin, and many others.

On the negative side, Qilian Sect, Blood Crow Sect, North Sea Ice Palace... and what else?

Anyway, there were many. The Demonic Cult would probably be added soon.

The description of a tangled ball of thread fit perfectly.

Though people’s lives were like that anyway, unlike commoners, grudges in the martial world typically involved swords.

He had already killed so many people.

If the war continued, the leading digit of that number might change rapidly.

So it seemed too late to pontificate about the weight of human life now.

Wasn’t he Lee Seojun, the Transcendent Realm master who could kill hundreds of people in a single day as a super-elite killing machine?

For this reason, Seojun didn’t particularly think about punishing the Blood Crow Sect Leader or any other grandiose justification like justice.

His death would simply be because he was an annoying presence.

From the Blood Crow Sect Leader’s perspective, it was just unfortunate.

Well, I also have something I want to experiment with.

To kill time, Seojun’s mind worked busily.

There was a suitable topic at hand.

Hadn’t he witnessed the renowned 108 Arhat Formation from Shaolin?

However, he needed to modify a formation meant for 108 people so that he could use it alone.

If he combined such a modified formation with the special inner core he possessed and sorcery...

It might be possible.

He might be able to touch, albeit partially, that power.

The Realm.

The exclusive authority of Unrestrained Realm masters.

As Seojun searched for a way, the sun moved rapidly above his head.

*Inhale... Exhale...

In the depths of night, faint breathing sounds escaped from a small room.

The eyes of the man sitting cross-legged in the center of the room suddenly opened.

“...Success.”

Exhale... His breath mixed with red energy.

The man stood and burned off the waste expelled from every pore of his body using reinforced qi.

After putting on his clothes, he habitually placed a long pipe in his mouth.

Lighting it with Three Channels Divine Fire, he inhaled the smoke, and his mind cleared as if his brain were awakening.

As he left the room, the subordinates standing guard outside bowed their heads.

“Congratulations, Sect Leader!”

“Enough.”

The man, the Blood Crow Sect Leader, asked one of his subordinates.

“What about the Heaven-reaching True Qi matter?”

“No results. He still seems to be moving around freely. There were no achievements in Henan a few days ago either.”

“Is that so...”

The Namgung Clan’s new Transcendent Realm master, Lee Seojun.

He had thought that with some pressure, Seojun would stay holed up in the clan for a while, but he didn’t seem to be a cautious person.

“He’s irritating. Leave him be for now. There’s no point in pursuing this further.”

“Yes!”

It had been a subcontract from the Black Serpent to the Blood Crow Sect, but now that he had successfully advanced his realm, it would be better to take on other tasks.

The Black Serpent side would probably judge the same.

The Blood Crow Sect Leader clenched his fist, as if measuring the overflowing power throughout his body.

Now I’ve reached mid-Transcendent Realm.

He had ground up 3,333 people to create an elixir, but due to the poor quality of the ingredients, the effect wasn’t that remarkable.

But he had crossed a barrier nonetheless, so it was fine.

From mid-Transcendent Realm, one could manipulate the form of reinforced qi relatively freely, exponentially increasing the power of the Blood Crow Sect’s exclusive martial art, Blood Phosphorus Reinforced Qi.

“Where is the Rakshasa Sword?”

A subordinate immediately answered the Blood Crow Sect Leader’s question.

“Resting in the annex.”

“Good. Fortunate that nothing happened.”

He had invited the guest in case something occurred while he was in seclusion, but it seemed there had been no need for intervention.

Though the money and spirit pills invested were regrettable, what could he do?

No incident was the best outcome.

“You, deliver the news to the Black Serpent. The rest of you, take a rest. We’ll likely head to the battlefield soon.”

“Yes sir!”

The subordinates quickly dispersed.

The Blood Crow Sect Leader tapped out the spent tobacco from his pipe.

“Hmm.”

His mouth felt dry. Somehow, he had a bad feeling.

Clicking his tongue, the Blood Crow Sect Leader put the pipe in his robe and started walking.

He intended to meet the Rakshasa Sword in the annex.

With two Transcendent Realm masters present, nothing should happen.

With a slightly improved mood, just as he turned a corner in the corridor, an eerie sensation tickled his neck.

“Hah...!”

He immediately imbued his hand with reinforced qi and swung.

Schick-

The reinforced qi itself was cut. A severed hand fell to the floor.

The Blood Crow Sect Leader’s eyes widened.

“Kuk...! You...!”

Clutching his hand with only a thumb remaining, the Blood Crow Sect Leader saw a man.

Somehow familiar. A face he had definitely seen in portraits several times.

“...Heaven-reaching True Qi! How are you here!”

Wasn’t he in Henan just days ago?

Looking at the astonished Blood Crow Sect Leader, Seojun smirked.

“You blocked that? Good reflexes.”

The Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Reinforced Qi dissipated from Seojun’s sword, replaced by Ice White Divine Qi.

Today, the Blood Crow Sect would be annihilated by the North Sea Ice Palace.